Seoul, Jun 8 (IANS): South Korea's central bank Friday froze its benchmark interest rate at 3.25 percent for June, leaving the 7-day repo rate unchanged for 12 straight months.
The Bank of Korea's decision was in line with market consensus as experts predicted the rate freeze due to growing concerns over Europe's debt crisis and slowing exports, which account for around half of the South Korean economy, reported Xinhua.
The central bank had lifted the borrowing costs by a total of 125 basis points (bps) in five steps to 3.25 percent since July 2010, but it has frozen the policy rate since July 2011.